The earliest record of the city is in a grant or charter of 812 ce that mentions it as Vadapadraka, a hamlet attached to the town of Ankottaka. In the 10th century Vadapadraka displaced Ankottaka as the urban centre. It seems also to have been known as Chandanavati, named for Raja Chandan of the Dor Rajputs, who wrested it from the Jainas. The city underwent periodic renamings: Varavati, Vatpatraka, Baroda, and, in 1971, Vadodara.

The history of Vadodara falls into a Hindu period (until 1297); a period under the Muslim Delhi sultanate (1297–c. 1401); an independent Gujarat sultanate, during which the nucleus of the present city was built (c. 1401–c. 1573); a Mughal Empire period (c. 1573–1734); and a Maratha period, during which it became the capital of the powerful Gaekwar dynasty (1734–1947). In 1802 the British established a residency in the city to conduct relations between the East India Company and the Gaekwars; later the company was also responsible for British relations with all the states of Gujarat and the Kathiawar Peninsula.

The long history of Vadodara is reflected in its many palaces, gates, parks, and avenues. It houses the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (1949) and other educational and cultural institutions, including several museums. The Baroda Museum and Picture Gallery, founded by the Maharaja Gaekwar of Baroda in 1894, formally opened in 1921. The museum displays European paintings, including portraits by British painters George Romney and Sir Joshua Reynolds and by Dutch painter Sir Peter Lely. The museum also contains Hindu illustrations, sculpture, folk art, and ethnography.

Among the city’s varied products are cotton textiles and homespun cloth, chemicals, matches, machinery, and furniture. Vadodara is a rail and highway junction and has an airport for domestic flights. Vadodara’s surrounding region extends from the Narmada River (south) to the Mahi River (north). It corresponds roughly to the capital division of the former princely state of Baroda (the Gaekwar dominions). Cash crops are cotton, tobacco, and castor beans. Wheat, pulses, corn (maize), rice, and garden crops are grown for local use and export. Pop. (2001) city, 1,306,227; urban agglom., 1,491,045; (2011) city, 1,670,806; urban agglom., 1,822,221.